December 1, 2008

Here are the top 10 questions for the upcoming college basketball season:

1. WHICH CONFERENCE RANKS AS THE BEST?

Last year the Pac 10 and Big East established themselves as the two best conferences in the land. What has changed in a year’s time? Everything. Pro scouts undoubtedly had a high admiration for the Pac 10, as 3 of the first five picks were from UCLA and USC alone. Overall, 10 players from the conference were drafted, 7 in the first round. As a result, the Pac 10 will be a much younger league this year.

The Big East, however, returns a lot of veteran talent, and will most likely produce the most NCAA Tournament selections from a single conference. For starters, there is Connecticut, with its 7’3” swatter, Hasheem Thabeet. Then there’s Rick Pitino and his loaded Louisville squad, featuring athletic Earl Clark and talented frosh big man Samardo Samuels from yard -- Trelawney, Jamaica.

Pittsburgh and Notre Dame return tough, veteran rosters that will pound the glass and get after teams defensively. Scouts will be closely watching Pitt’s Sam Young and the Irish’s Luke Harangody all year. Meanwhile, Marquette will feature one of the country’s best backcourts in Jerel McNeal and Wesley Matthews, son of the ex-Laker Wes Matthews. Throw in solid clubs Georgetown, Syracuse, Villanova, West Virginia, and Providence, and this conference must be considered the deepest in college basketball.

2. CAN THE ACC REBOUND FROM A DOWN YEAR?

Yes and no. Last year the ACC proved vastly inferior to both the Pac 10 and Big East. Its showing in the the Tournament, and later, in the NBA Draft, demonstrated to everyone that the league had taken a step backward.

This year the ACC will boast powerhouse North Carolina, the favorite to be crowned NCAA champion. Carolina features player-of-the-year candidate Tyler Hansbrough, shooter Wayne Ellington, playmaker Ty Lawson, and a strong recruiting class led by Larry Drew II, son of the ex-Laker Larry Drew.

Then there’s a rising giant in Wake Forest, led by guard Jeff Teague, and a recruiting class filled with big men that is among the nation’s best. Miami returns four starters from its Tourney team, and should make some noise as well.

As for Duke, they should make the Tournament, but will face the same problem they dealt with last year -- the lack of an inside game. Because of their perimeter-oriented attack, they are a likely early round casualty in the Tourney.

Outside of these squads, the remaining teams are on the bubble. Those bubble squads have talent, but many question marks as well.

3. CAN UCLA REACH A FOURTH CONSECUTIVE FINAL FOUR, AND IF SO, CAN THEY WIN A RECORD-SETTING 12TH TITLE?

Absolutely. The Bruins lost a ton of talent in Russell Westbrook, Kevin Love, and Luc Richard Mbah a Moute. All three of those players were NBA draft picks, two of them going top five.

Luckily for Bruin fans, UCLA reloads with the clear-cut number one recruiting class in the country. This year’s class features five players ranked in the top 50 nationwide. It's led by Jrue Holiday, ranked as the best guard in the land. In addition, Coach Howland has brought in two other guards in Malcolm Lee and Jerime Anderson, and two bigs in Drew Gordon and J’Mison Morgan.

Meanwhile, the Bruins return several solid vets to blend with the kids. Bruisers Alfred Aboya and James Keefe will pound the glass. Michael Roll, now healthy, provides a solid perimeter stroke. Darren Collison is one of the nation’s quickest and best at the point, and is a clutch three-point shooter. And then there’s Josh Shipp, a potentially dynamic perimeter scorer. If Shipp returns to his early season form of last year, this team becomes exceptionally difficult to stop.

Overlooked in all of this is Ben Howland. The man can flat-out coach. His defense-oriented approach always gives the Bruins a chance in any ballgame.

This team can expect some early season losses in conference play, as the kids learn and take their lumps. By season’s end, they should win the Pac 10 and be ready to make noise in the Tourney.

4. WILL THIS YEAR SEE THE SAME AMOUNT OF ONE-AND-DONE FRESHMEN PHENOMS AS LAST YEAR?

Not likely. Last year’s class of O.J. Mayo, Love, Derrick Rose, Michael Beasley, etc., was extraordinary. This year, USC’s high-flyer DeMar DeRozan could bolt, as could Memphis’ Tyreke Evans. But, overall, this year’s class is not expected to match last year’s NBA-ready group.

5. WHO IS THE MOST EXCITING PLAYER IN COLLEGE BASKETBALL?

Stephen Curry. This guy is the closest thing to a one-man show in the game. Fans across the country are wondering if he can duplicate his giant-slaying act one more time this March. Great stroke. Great clutch player.

6. WHO WILL WIN THIS YEAR'S STEVE ALFORD/J.J. REDICK AWARD?

This award is not for outside shooting. This award is for the college star who gets overhyped by the media as a player-of-the-year candidate, only to go on to zero success at the NBA-level.

When Alford was coming off those screens at Indiana in the 80’s, the mass media praised him to no end. He did have an excellent college career, but why wouldn’t those in the press ever give a credible assessment of his pro chances? The propaganda was so extreme that on draft night clueless Pacer fans actually wanted the team to draft Alford rather than future Hall of Famer Reggie Miller.

And who can forget all the hoopla biased Dick Vitale showered on Redick a few years ago, when an obviously more talented and superior player in Brandon Roy was doing his thing for Washington. Redick now rides the bench, while Roy is a young NBA star.

This year the award must go to Tyler Hansbrough, albeit with an asterisk. Psycho T is the best player on the team favored to win it all. He deserves the media recognition, and justifiably could win the NCAA player-of-the-year-award. But will the media ever give an objective assessment of his pro chances?

Hansbrough will not be the bust that the pine-sitting Redick is (hence, the asterisk). He will get drafted first round, he will be in some team’s rotation at the least, and very likely could start for the right team. However, he will be nothing more than a complementary player at the next level. A number one option-type star he is not.

Two years ago, USC’s athletic Taj Gibson exposed Hansbrough’s limitations, as he repeatedly swatted him inside. To his credit, Hansbrough came back the next year with a reliable face-up 17 foot jumper. Last year, Hansbrough was easily rooted off the block by stronger bigs on his within-the-offense post touches. To correct this, he will need to add strength, and this will be critical to his game expanding.

Right now Hansbrough projects as a board-crashing, 17-foot pick-and-pop shooting, fast break lane-filling, hustle guy. A Kurt Rambis/AC Green/Paul Millsap-type 4 that does the dirty work. Any team can appreciate that style of player on their roster.

But if he ever wants to have an NBA offense run through him, he will need to establish strength and develop a skilled post game.

Until that time, it would be nice of the media to have a little objectivity with the praise.